A Green New Deal for Europe - Towards green modernization in the face of crisis

Europe in 2009 is confronted with multiple crises – financial, economic, environmental and social. The need for sustainable policies is self-evident. The European Greens are proposing a “Green New Deal”, an integrated policy to approach these challenges. The concept tackles the crisis not exclusively as an economic one and calls for the ecological transformation of our economies towards more sustainable and equitable patterns of consumption and production.

The Wuppertal Institute report focuses on the climate, environment and energy aspects of this Green New Deal. It takes stock of the “recovery packages” introduced by governments around the globe and reveals that the European Union is lagging behind the United States and Asia in terms of the Green share of those recovery plans. The authors show the economic and employment potential of a Green New Deal and that the EU has the possibility of leading the way. If it is not to miss this opportunity, the European Union and its Member States must focus their programmes on investments that will kick-start a Green economy and providesustainable ways out of the crisis.